Sunday Catholic Word

Episode 81: Year B – 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode, we focus on two details found in the readings for this upcoming 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, both of which have to do with Mary. The first detail, found in the first reading, taken from Genesis 3:9-15, is the enmity that God promises to set between the devil and the “woman.” For Catholics, as we shall see, this relates to Mary’s freedom from sin: both original and personal. The other detail is found in the Gospel reading, taken from Mark 3:20-35, where Jesus seems to downplay the role of Mary by talking about who...

Episode 80: Year B – Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord In this episode, we focus on two details found in the first and second readings, along with the Gospel, for this upcoming Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Year B. Both of them pertain to the Eucharist. The detail in the first reading, taken from Exodus 24:3-8, overlaps with the one detail in the Gospel that we’re going to focus on—“the blood of the covenant.” For the second reading, we focus on the teaching that Christ has entered the heavenly sanctuary with his blood once for all and its rel...

Episode 79: Year B – Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity In this episode, we confine ourselves to the Gospel reading for this upcoming Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year B, taken from Matthew 28:16-20. There are several details that relate to a variety of apologetical topics, two of which deal specifically with this Sunday’s solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: The trinitarian formula for baptism and the revelation of the Trinity. The other apologetical topics that come to fore are the Sacrament of Reconciliation and apostolic succession. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catho...

Episode 78: Year B – Pentecost Sunday In this episode, we have the readings from Pentecost Sunday, Year B as our target for reflection. There are several details that we touch on. The first is the gift of “tongues” found in the first reading, taken from Acts 2:1-11. We will briefly touch on this detail given that we’ve already dealt with it for Pentecost Sunday, Year A. The other details, however, will be taken from the optional readings for the second reading, taken from Galatians 5:16-25, and the Gospel, taken from John 15:26-27; 16:12-15. The relevant apologetical topic for the option...

Episode 77: Year B – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord In today’s episode, we reflect on several details found in the readings for this upcoming Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Year B, that are relevant for doing apologetics. We’ve already had the opportunity to reflect on some of them for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Year A in episode 26 of the Sunday Catholic Word. The others, however, do not overlap with Year A due to the optional second reading from Ephesians 4:1-13 and a different Gospel, taken from Mark 16:15-20 The Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholi...

Episode 76: Year B – 6th Sunday of Easter There are three details that I want to focus on in the readings for this upcoming 6th Sunday of Easter, Year B. The first two come from the first reading, which recounts the event involving. Cornelius and his Gentile friends, taken from Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48. The apologetical topic that both details relate to is the Sacrament of Baptism. The third detail is found in the Gospel reading, taken from John 15:9-17. The topic that comes to the fore, like in last week’s Gospel, is the relationship that our good works have with our salvation. The R...

Episode 75: Year B – 5th Sunday of Easter There are three details that we focus on in the readings for this upcoming 5th Sunday of Easter, Year B. One detail comes from the second reading, taken from 1 John 3:18-24. The relevant topic is the role good works play in our salvation. The other two details are found in the Gospel reading, which taken from John 15:1-8. The apologetical topics that come to the fore are the Catholic interpretation of Jesus’ words “eat my flesh . . . drink my blood” in his Bread of Life Discourse in John 6 and the possibility for a Christian to lose the gift of s...

Episode 74: Year B – 4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday There are three details that we highlight in the readings for this upcoming 4th Sunday of Easter, Year B, also called Good Shepherd Sunday. The first two details come from the first reading, taken from Acts 4:8-12. The relevant apologetical topics are Peter the Rock (and thus the Papacy) and Jesus’ divinity. The third detail is the major theme of the Gospel—Jesus the Good Shepherd. The passage is John 10:11-18. The apologetical topics that come to fore with this theme is Jesus’ divinity and Peter’s role as the first pope. ...

Episode 73: Year B – 3rd Sunday of Easter There are four details that we focus on for this upcoming Sunday Mass Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Easter. The first two come from the first reading, taken from Acts 3:13-15, 17-19. The relevant topics that come to fore are the early Church’s belief about Christ’s divinity and the Church’s teaching on invincible ignorance when it comes to sin. Details three and four are in the Gospel reading, taken from Luke 24:35-48. There are two apologetical topics that come into play: the bodily nature of Jesus’ resurrection and its significance for counter...

Episode 72: Year B – Divine Mercy Sunday In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on three details that are relevant for apologetics in this upcoming Divine Mercy Sunday readings. The first comes from the first reading, which is taken from Acts 4:32-35, where we’re told the early Christians didn’t claim any possessions to be his own but had everything in common. Of course, the relevant topic is whether this provides biblical justification for socialism. The remaining two details are taken from the Gospel reading, which is taken from John 20:19-31. The relevant topics that we...